The present invention generally relates to a teaching aid or reminder system for golfers and, more specifically to a system set up and alignment diagrams which may be placed on golf equipment to remind golfers of the proper set up and alignment for a wide variety of golf shots.
One of the most difficult aspects of he game of golf relates to the enormous variety of shots that are required to be played during any given round. While it is one thing to learn the basics of a proper swing, it is quite another to implement the proper swing mechanics together with the proper set up and alignment for every situation. In this regard, sand lies, uphill lies, downhill lies, sidehill lies, lies in the rough, lies amongst the trees, etc., generally require different golfer and golf club alignment and sometimes a different impact point of the club head with respect to the ball in order to properly execute the desired shot. Often, many of these lies, or rather the shots that they call for, are referred to as "trouble shots". However, depending on the golf course and the golfer, such shots may actually be more commonly encountered during a round of golf than a level lie in the fairway which most golfers tend to practice and learn about the most.
As a result of golfers spending most or all of their practice time devoted to shots off of a level lie at a golf range, for example, they tend to learn only one type of alignment and set up with respect to the golf ball and target. Therefore, no matter what lie most golfers encounter on the golf course, they will tend to automatically align themselves or "set themselves up" as they learned at the golf range. Even relatively well-skilled golfers simply cannot remember the correct stance, alignment and club head orientation and proper impact point for every type of lie and required shot encountered on an actual golf course.
Certain golf alignment aids have been developed for use on golf equipment to help remind golfers of the "traditional" stance for different golf clubs. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,420,529, entitled "Golf Ball Including Stance Diagram", teaches a golf ball having eight different stance diagrams, each diagram corresponding to a different golf club and basically showing the relative positions of the golfer's feet, golf club and golf ball for each club. U.S. Pat. No. 3,684,294, entitled "Golf Club Including Stance Diagram" similarly discloses such basic "traditional" stance diagrams, except that they are placed on the golf club. While these alignment aids might be helpful to very novice golfers who cannot remember the basic set up for a level fairway lie, most golfers with any experience or training have these basic stances for level lies in the fairway committed to memory and therefore do not need reminding once on the course.
Another golf club having alignment indicia is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,297 (the '297 patent). The '297 patent discloses the use of a plurality of lines extending along the length of the club shaft for assisting the golfer in producing shots having incremental amounts of hook and slice. While the '297 patent is directed to teaching golfers such "non-traditional" golf shots as hooks and slices, it still fails to provide any means for reminding golfers of the several different set up and alignment modifications necessary to properly execute these shots as well as many other types of golf shots. Significantly, the system taught in the '297 patent does not indicate to the golfer what other set up modifications are necessary to have the sliced or hooked shot travel to the intended target, e.g., instead of slicing or hooking into trouble.
Further problems exist in the art of golf teaching aids aimed at helping golfers improve their putting. In this regard, while many alignment aids have been developed to help golfers align the putter head properly with respect to the hole, none of these alignment aids act as reminders for other putting basics which should be followed for successful putting.
It is therefore apparent that further improvements in the art of golf alignment and teaching aids are necessary, and that such improvements particularly should be directed to a quick and easy universal indicating system which golfers may use during a round of golf to properly set up and align themselves for a wide variety of shots.